Paneer Tikka Masala Recipe – Tikka Masala Gravy

Paneer Tikka Masala is rich and flavourful Paneer dish. The recipe of this restaurant style Paneer tikka masala is inspired from popular British Curry Chicken Tikka Masala.

If you see any Indian restaurant menu, most of the chances are you will see paneer tikka masala in gravy on the menu, especially outside India. You can guess the popularity of Paneer tikka masala sabzi when you see name prefixed in various Burger or Pizza places.

I usually do not cook heavy curries, but for get-togethers, parties and rare days when we want to eat some good food I cook paneer tikka masala at home. Restaurant style paneer tikka masala authentic recipe is quite a rich curry. 

The curry sauce is usually made with onion and tomatoes as a base but yogurt, cream and some sort of nuts are added to give it a rich texture. Normally cashew is used to give it creamy and nutty taste, but in this recipe, I used soaked and peeled almonds as a substitution as I like the taste more. 

The creamy and delicious gravy with Naan is a classic combination, but sometimes you can just eat it like that too. When making this recipe I usually make a larger quantity of Paneer tikka than the required quantity for the gravy. You can keep them in the fridge and use them as a starter, sandwich and wraps filling or even in salads.

It is best to leave the paneer in the marinade for some time to soak in all the flavors of spices before preparing to put them for grilling. The number of spices adds to the deep aromatic flavors to your dish.

This is a gravy dish and is best served with Roti or Naan but can also be had with rice for lunch or dinner. While making paneer tikka for the gravy you can make them in a non-stick pan, directly over a low flame if you have a tandoor or by grilling in an oven. To save some time and effort, I mostly do it in the oven which gives it the perfect smoky flavor.

The hung curd used for marinade can also be made at home and you can also use it to make hung curd sandwich if you make some extra. Usually, when you eat this curry in restaurants there is the deep red color which comes from food colors.  I did not add any food color to the recipe and let degi mirch do the job, though the color is not as deep red but the deep hue of orange is good too. 

Tips for Making Best Paneer Tikka Masala

• Fresh Ingredients with good quality make a lot of difference in terms of taste and look of the dish. Homemade paneer or homemade yogurt tastes better than anything else. I use full-fat versions of both, as more often than not this is indulgence food for us.
• The color of the Paneer tikka masala gravy comes from the use of ripe red tomatoes and Kashmiri red chili powder/degi mirch instead of regular one.
• Marinate the paneer with spiced for minimum one hour to absorb the flavors.

If you love paneer like I do, you may like to try these delicious paneer curry recipes too, Kadahi Paneer recipe, Aloo Matar Paneer Curry,  Methi Malai Paneer , Paneer Steak on Potato Masala , Paneer Butter Masala 

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Paneer Tikka Masala Recipe Video

Print Recipe

Paneer Tikka Masala

Course

curry, main course

Cuisine

indian, indian cuisine, punjabi

Servings

Ingredients

• 300 gm cubed paneer
• 1 inch ginger grated
• 1/2 cup yoghurt curd
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp black pepper powder
• tsp ½kasuri methi
• For Gravy!
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 Onion sliced big
• 4 Tomatoes cut into chunks
• 1 inch piece ginger
• 2 green chillies slit
• 1-2 Tbsp cream
• salt
• 2 tsp kashmiri red chili powder
• 10-12 almonds soaked and peeled
• ¼ capsicum chopped fine

Course curry, main course Cuisine indian, indian cuisine, punjabi Servings Ingredients 300 gm cubed paneer 1 inch ginger grated 1/2 cup yoghurt curd Salt to taste 1 tsp red chili powder 1 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp curry powder 1 tsp black pepper powder tsp ½kasuri methi For Gravy! 2 tbsp butter 1 Onion sliced big 4 Tomatoes cut into chunks 1 inch piece ginger 2 green chillies slit 1-2 Tbsp cream salt 2 tsp kashmiri red chili powder 10-12 almonds soaked and peeled ¼ capsicum chopped fine

Instructions

1. First start with making Paneer Tikka.
2. Marinate the cubed paneer in a marinade made by mixing ingredients from marinade list and mixing it. Coat the cubed paneer in the marinade and keep it for marinating for 1-2 hours in the fridge. You can keep it for longer duration to add more flavour.
3. Grill these paneer grills on a tawa/griddle or in oven at 180C for 15-20 minutes.
4. To prepare the gravy, Heat 1tbsp butter in a pan and cook sliced onion, ginger, green chili in the the butter till tomatoes are mushy.
5. Now allow this mix to cool and then grind to make a fine paste.
6. Now add soaked almonds and capsicum and again grind to a fine paste.
7. Heat another tbsp of butter and add ground masala paste in the pan.
8. Add 1-2 tsp of red chili powder and cook some more.
9. Add 2 tbsp of curd and cook on slow medium fire for 4-5 minutes, keep stirring it in between.
10. When masala is cooked add ½ cup of water and add paneer tikka in gravy.
11. Cook covered for another few minutes and add 1-2 tbsp of fresh milk cream.
12. Stir to combine and serve steaming bowl of Paneer Tikka Masala with Naan.